A Warning to Rich People

¹Listen, you rich people, cry and weep, because you’ll soon be suffering.

²Your riches have rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.

³Your gold and silver have lost their brightness. Their dullness will be a witness against you and eat up your bodies like fire. You’ve kept all your money for yourself in these last days.

⁴You’ve even failed to pay the workers who brought in your hay, and the money you owe them is now crying out against you. The cries of those who gathered your harvest have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.

⁵You’ve lived in luxury on earth and had everything you wanted. But you’ve only made yourselves fat like cattle to be butchered.

⁶You’ve declared innocent people guilty and murdered them, even when they weren’t opposing you.

Be Patient When You Suffer

⁷Brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord returns. See how the farmer waits for the land to produce its rich crop, being patient until the fall and spring rains come.

⁸You too must be patient and stand firm, because the Lord will return soon.

⁹Brothers and sisters, don’t complain about one another, because if you do, you’ll be judged. And the Judge is standing at the door!

¹⁰Brothers and sisters, as an example of how to be patient when you suffer, think about the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

¹¹As you know, we consider people blessed who don’t give up. You’ve heard that Job was patient, and you’ve seen what the Lord finally did for him. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

¹²Above all, my brothers and sisters, don’t swear any oaths, not by heaven or by the earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” If you do more than that, you’ll be found guilty.

The Prayer of Faith

¹³Is anyone among you in trouble? Then that person should pray. Is anyone among you happy? Then that person should sing songs of praise.

¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Then that person should send for the elders of the church to come and pray for them and anoint them with olive oil in the name of the Lord.

¹⁵The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well, and the Lord will heal them. If they’ve sinned, they’ll be forgiven.

¹⁶So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you will be healed. The prayer of a godly person is very powerful, and great things happen because of it.

¹⁷Elijah was a human being just as we are. He prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t rain on the land for three and a half years.

¹⁸Then he prayed again and it did rain and the earth produced its crops.

¹⁹My brothers and sisters, if one of you wanders away from the truth and someone else brings that person back,

²⁰remember that anyone who helps a sinner turn back from going the wrong way will save them from death and keep many sins from being discovered.